Harry, He's Here To Help review

Part Hitchcockian thriller, part Coen-style black comedy, Harry... tells of the eponymous charming playboy (Sergi Lopez), who ingratiates himself into the life of Michel (Laurent Lucas) after a chance meeting. Although Michel doesn't recognise him, Harry introduces himself - in suspicious Mr Ripley style - - as a school friend. Soon Harry and his girlfriend Plum (Sophie Guillemin) are staying at the country retreat of Michel and wife Claire (Mathilde Seigner). When Harry's apparent kindness goes too far, things become ever so slightly edgy, director Dominik Moll unfolding the story with assured subtlety. Only the ominous soundtrack, and the fact that nobody is ever that nice, give us reason to suspect Harry. Until his "problem-solving" becomes a little more heavy-handed, that is...

Although allowing a virtual stranger to become so intimate with your family is a mite far-fetched, Moll (who also scripted) neatly sidesteps this potential stumbling block, retaining a persuasive realism. Clever, tightly-plotted and satisfying, Harry... is modern French cinema at its best.